Illinois coach Tim Beckman didn’t win a Big Ten game in his first year, finishing 0-8 in the league and 2-10 overall. In other words, Illinois was as bad as it was before he arrived.

Still, athletic director Mike Thomas says that Beckman will be back for the 2013 season.

Tim Beckman went 2-10 in his first season at Illinois. (AP Photo)

“At the end of the day, Tim Beckman is going to be our football coach in the future,” Thomas said on ESPN Radio, according to Coachingsearch.com. “He’ll be our football coach next year…At the end of the day, what’s important to me are the people that I work with and the fact that we have confidence in what we’re doing and feel good about the future of not just our football program, but also the other 18 sports, the way we go about doing our business, and the kids we graduate from this university that are successful both on and off the field.”

Thomas acknowledged, of course, that winning does in fact matter. A lot.

“We’ve got to move the needle there,” Thomas said, adding that it is up to the staff to figure out what resources are necessary to turn them into winners.

Beckman twice found himself in awkward positions this season. In October, Illinois self-reported a level 2 secondary violation to the Big Ten Conference when it was discovered that Beckman was chewing tobacco on the sideline during a game. Beckman apologized and called it a bad habit.

Also, last week against Northwestern, Beckman was run over on the sideline by an official. Beckman was given a penalty for being in the way. The penalty set up a Northwestern touchdown.